A 3D model includes a virtual skeleton/infrastructure comprised of bones that are arranged in a hierarchical tree structure. Surrounding the bones is a polygon mesh, comprised of polygons such as triangles, which represents the skin of the 3D model. Movement of the polygon mesh is tied to the movement of the bones so that the 3D model approximates real-life movement when the bones are re-positioned.
The 3D model inhabits a virtual world, in which the distance to a virtual camera dictates perspective. That is, objects farther away from the virtual camera are depicted as smaller than objects closer to the virtual camera. Objects that are farther away can be depicted with less detail without significantly affecting the quality of the 3D animation.